Eagan police chase ends in arrests near soccer game

After allegedly leading Eagan police on a chase in a stolen Jeep, Kurtis Ray Cornelius might have been a little late in asking for a ride.

Prosecutors say Cornelius, 24, of St. Louis Park ditched the stolen vehicle and wound up asking strangers at a soccer game for a lift before police caught up with him May 13.

He and a suspected accomplice, Ronald Richard Gage, 54, of Blaine were charged May 15 in Dakota County District Court with receiving the stolen vehicle and using it to flee police, both felonies.

Cornelius also was charged with stealing the Jeep and possessing burglary tools, also felonies.

Both remain jailed with bail set at $50,000.

According to the criminal complaints:

Police spotted Cornelius and Gage in the Jeep pulling out of the Cinnamon Ridge apartment complex at high speed about 7:15 p.m. May 13. After the vehicle rolled through a red light, officers turned on their lights and sirens to pull it over.

Instead, the Jeep sped up to more than 50 mph in a 30-mph residential neighborhood, making hard turns, running a stop sign and eventually traveling off-road into a ravine to avoid police.

Police found the abandoned Jeep nearby, with stolen items inside, including a Coach-brand purse and multiple financial transaction cards in someone else's name, the complaint said.

Advertisement

They later learned the Jeep itself was stolen -- the license plates on it had been reported stolen earlier that day and the vehicle was involved in a gas drive-off incident the same day.

Officers searched the area and found Gage at a nearby intersection. He was visibly winded, although he said he wasn't breathing hard, according to the complaint.

He had a financial card in his pocket matching those from the Jeep, and witnesses identified him as one of the men who had fled the vehicle, the complaint said.

Police also received a report of another man at a soccer game in a nearby park, "going from person to person, asking strangers if he could get a ride from them," the complaint said.

They identified the second man as Cornelius. He threw away another financial card matching those from the Jeep as police approached, according to the complaint.

Cornelius' criminal history in Minnesota includes two felony burglary convictions. Gage's record includes more than two dozen convictions ranging from motor vehicle theft to driving under the influence to escaping from custody.